The "Smallest" Cog

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (1 Corinthians 12.15-20, ESV)

Back home I have a set of toy magnets that I got from Sonic. The toys are little gears that can connect together and by turning one cog (a cog is a gear in case you didn't know) you end up turning them all. Now these things are cheaply made and, in light of that fact, they would often slip out of place so that when you turned one cog it wouldn’t turn any of the other ones. In order for the whole thing to work together all the pieces needed to do their job! So it is with the church.

In the case of my toy gears I needed them all to do their job of connecting each other so that it would work properly. In the same way each of us in the church has a specific task/ability that we do in order for the body of Christ to work most efficiently. For some that task/ability may be teaching the younger children the word of God, for others it may be song leading, and still for others it may be preparing the trays for communion each week or maybe cleaning the restrooms. Now you may be thinking, “Is the person who gets the communion tray ready each week, really that important?” Absolutely! Imagine preparing your minds for the Lord’s Supper only to find out that none of the trays have anything in them! Although the job of preparing those may seem small and insignificant it’s really quite important. Think about some other jobs you view as small or unimportant and take the time to realize just how important it really is!

The main reason for writing this article today is to remind you all, as well as myself, about the people who are out doing these “unimportant” tasks. When was the last time you thanked someone for cleaning the restroom, or taking the trash out? To be honest it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.

This week I want you to join me in thinking of someone who does these “small” things and tell them “Thank you!” Those people deserve our thanks and accolades, yet we hardly ever let them know they’re appreciated!  Anyone reading this blog today who does these things we largely consider small, I just want to say thank you so very much! You really are doing a wonderful work for the Lord’s kingdom!   -Jack D.